Chinabandirevu, Arlagudem and several other remote villages in Dummugudem mandal in Bhadrachalam Agency came alive with a flurry of activities on the eve of Ganesha Chaturthi as ace swimmers thronged the water bodies around these villages to pick water lilies (kaluva pulu), the most-sought after flowers during the nine-day Ganesha festivities beginning on Friday.
The exotic water lilies forms an indispensable part of the puja material used during the Ganesha festival. It’s a customary practice to decorate the idols with a bunch of colourful water lilies.
Cashing in on the huge demand for water lilies during the annual Ganesha festivities, youth from various tribal habitations thronged the lakes in the vicinity of the interior villages in Dummudugem on Thursday.
Those adept at swimming flocked to Kongavagu at Arlagudem and a local pond at Chinabandirevu from the early hours of Thursday to collect the flowers.
A few used small rafts while others swam to the core areas in the lakes to pick the booming water lilies floating on the surface, much to the delight of the local villagers.
They swiftly shifted the fresh water lilies to Bhadrachalam on their mopeds and bikes to make a quick buck. A fully-grown fresh water lily commands a price between ₹5 and ₹10 each in Bhadrachalam, said Nagaraju of Mahadevapuram in Dummugudem mandal.
The collection of water lilies from large lakes with their roots deeply entrenched in the water bed is an arduous task.
“The Ganesha festival season is the only period when the demand for water lilies shoots up and offers us an opportunity to earn a relatively substantial income during the nine days,” quipped another youth, who had come to Chinabandirevu lake all the way from Mahadevapuram to collect water lilies.